


My Mangaka

by DrivvenWrinth



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, naruto - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-13
Updated: 2012-05-18
Packaged: 2017-11-05 08:03:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/404153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrivvenWrinth/pseuds/DrivvenWrinth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shikamaru gets a demotion. His job? To get a reclusive mangaka to meet with him. A trip to Japan takes him away from his beloved friend, Naruto. (Rapefic warning is for a later chapter. I do not usually write Rape and I DO NOT glorify it.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Manga and Trouble

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, sadly that means I do not own it and have gained nothing but personal satisfaction from writing this.  
> A/N: As always, I have to show my heartfelt appreciation for my sister, co-author, and amazing beta FairyNiamh

Naruto looked up from where he lay sprawled on the floor. “Hey Shika! I didn’t know you read this stuff.”

His best friend for life gave him a look that would make a cornered badger seem tame. “What the fuck did I tell you about going through my stuff?!!” His briefcase hit the floor and he advanced on the nosy blond.

“I was bored. And you weren’t here. And that doesn’t explain why you have homo-erotic manga in your bedroom.”

“URGH! Troublesome brat.” The brunette gave up on changing the subject, sidestepped the prone idiot and headed for his kitchen. “Nobody asked you to hang out here, it’s not my fault you’re bored.”

Naruto smirked evilly and followed his irritated friend. “I always come here when I’m bored. It’s your job to entertain me. Oh and you’re out’a ramen.”

Shika rolled his eyes. “No. That’s your boyfriend of the week’s job. I’m the best friend. Remember? And it’s not my job to feed you either.”

Naruto lounged against the door frame. Shikamaru glanced at his smirking friend. They both knew the next line so well that it didn’t need to be spoken out loud. Of course, Naruto was always one to overdo everything, so he said it anyway. “And whose fault is that?”

Shika tried to change the subject. “Ordering pizza or Thai tonight?”

He heard Naruto move and the familiar excited dread filled him. They’d been playing this game for a very long time. At first it was a coping mechanism. When Naruto had realized his true orientation, it could have ruined their friendship. Instead of letting that happen, they turned it into a game.

Tanned arms wrapped around his waist as soft lips whispered against his neck. “The position of ‘one true love’ is still open…” There was a warm chuckle when Shika shivered, then he was hugged tightly and released. “You really really REALLY need to get a new girlfriend. You need to get laid.” Naruto called this over his shoulder as he headed back to the living room.

Shika shook his head and sighed. “How troublesome. Oh well, Thai it is then.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

“So, your supervisor put you in charge of the Yaoi Department?”

“Yeah. “

“But you’re straight.”

“He’s got it in for me.”

“You shouldn’t have boned his secretary.”

“Tell me something I don’t know genius.”

Naruto picked up one of the racier Mangas. Shikamaru was supposed to read through all of them and select the ones he thought would do well translated into English. Then he had to submit a proposal, contact the chosen mangaka or authors and negotiate a deal. It was a lot.

“Huh. I don’t actually read this stuff. It’s really more for women who get off on the idea of two men together. It’s usually really unrealistic. But, you could probably get a lot of ideas and opinions on this stuff from the internet. I know people buy this stuff scan it, then translate it into English on the net.” He dropped the book and looked at his distraught friend.

“Will you help me? I’ll pay you. It’s just that….” Shikamaru didn’t look at him. “Well, you could help me weed out the really ridiculous stuff.”

Naruto frowned. “I told you. I don’t read this stuff.”

Worried brown eyes looked into his deep blue ones, searching for a shred of mercy. “Please. I think I’ll go nuts if I have to read them all. And the Yaoi Department is the Chief Editor’s baby. It’s her brain child. She finally got them to agree to let her try this and if I fuck it up….” He looked away. “I’m so screwed. Naruto please.”

Naruto knew the Chief Editor personally. He knew what she was capable of when crossed. A shiver of premonition skittered down his spine. “Okay, but promise me something.”

Shika looked up, a little worried.

“The next time you get drunk and horny and might do something that genius IQ of yours knows is dumb, call me. That guy wouldn’t be after you if he hadn’t caught you letting his secretary blow you at that Christmas party.” Shikamaru couldn’t argue. He just nodded. He was too ashamed and too grateful to even think.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

“This one.” It was two weeks later and every moment of Naruto’s free time had been spent helping Shikamaru research different yaoi mangaka and their work on the internet, then read the copies of their work in their native tongues.

Naruto and Shika were both fluent in Japanese. Shikamaru could read, and speak Chinese and Naruto had learned to read Korean from an ex-boyfriend a few years before.

Shikamaru picked up the book that Naruto had just dropped on his desk. Naruto had chosen the Japanese manga by the title of Migoto Tsukurigoto (Beautiful Lie).

Naruto flopped down on the floor and propped his feet up on the wall. “It’s actually pretty realistic. Not just about the physical stuff, but about how most gay men I know act and feel. If I’d ‘a read another one that labeled all ukes as over-emotional pansies with dicks I’d ‘a screamed!”

Shikamaru began reading. It was very well done. He flipped forward to a love scene. It was explicit, but tasteful. Aesthetically speaking, it was pleasing to look at. He couldn’t resist the opportunity. “I guess, being a ‘catcher’, you’d be sensitive to that, huh?”

Naruto grunted as he rolled over onto his stomach and grinned up at his friend. “Oh, I play all the bases. Every position. Don’t worry. When you finally come around, I’ll coach you through it all.”

Shika blushed and scowled. No one could make him feel uncomfortable quite like his blond haired beach bum friend. “You surfing today?”

“Naw.”

“Avoiding another ex?”

“Kinda.”

“Have anymore appointments today?”

“Nope. Last massage was an hour ago. Still got the table in the van.” A massage table in the back of his van and a surf board beside it; that was how Naruto lived his life. Not to mention the rock climbing gear in a box just behind the passenger’s seat, a skateboard strapped to the ceiling and various other outdoor recreational items scattered around the old piece of junk.

“Coming over?”

“Figured I’d just follow you.”

“Troublesome.” This was how Shika lived his life; work all day and hang out with his friend the rest of the time. Naruto always put him first. His various lovers had figured it out pretty quick. Shikamaru’s ex-girlfriends, well, they hadn’t. Thus the whole ‘ex’ thing. No one meant more to him than his friend.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, when you getting back?”

“No clue.”

“Huh.” Naruto sounded upset. Shikamaru was upset.

He had every one of the damn mangaka that the Chief Editor had approved lined up for an English release. Everyone, but one; the one the Chief wanted most. That one had been cagey, wouldn’t even speak to him. The woman’s manager/editor, just politely informed him that the sensei was not interested in an English release. Now Shika was under orders to go to Japan, track down the rather elusive mangaka and get her to agree. He was not under any circumstances to return until that objective was achieved.

“So, what do you want from Japan?”

“Duh.”

“Ramen, got it. Anything else?” Naruto shook his downcast head. Shikamaru had never left him behind before. It had always been the other way around. Naruto had traipsed all over the globe, living out of a backpack for months at a time. Shikamaru had always been here waiting for him. Was this how Shika had felt? Had it hurt his friend this much to watch him go off to have adventures without him? Naruto felt sick.

“Hey. It’s troublesome, I know, but we can IM everyday. I’ll come back as soon as I can.” Naruto just nodded, his head still down, his face turned away. “Come on. Don’t make me tear up. I can’t go on a business trip looking like a sissy.”

Naruto smiled and glomped onto his friend. “You better come back. The position’s still open and I won’t have my best candidate half way across the world.” Shika just smiled and held his best friend tightly.

\----------------------------------------------------------

The flight had been exhausting. The search for the elusive mangaka had been arduous. The run around he got once he located the damn woman was infuriating. She was holed up in a backwoods town in the middle of nowhere, on a property that you couldn’t even get to with a car.

He of course never got that close. He was trying to be respectful. He’d been told that a forceful person would never get close to the artist. So, there he was, renting a room from a kindly old couple and praying for a break. He got one when one of the villagers pointed out the mangaka’s assistant.

Haku was a pretty young man, just a little older than Shika himself. He was always polite and respectful, even when basically telling Shika to ‘sit 'n spin’. It didn’t look like he was ever going to get home.

“There.” Haku pointed to a hill outside of the village. “It sounds strange, but you will be able to get your Wi-Fi to work up there. Only at night and only between six o’clock and eight.”

Shikamaru slumped in relief. He’d finally be able to IM Naruto. “Thank you. I appreciate all your help Haku-san.” Haku giggled. He always did when Shikamaru gave his name the honorific.

“Nara-san, why don’t you give up and go home?” Haku asked quietly as Shika helped him load grocery items onto his dirt bike.

“I can’t. I’ve been told to stay until I at least meet with the sensei.”

“Oh. Thank you for assisting me again.” Shikamaru always met Haku and always helped him gather the things he needed from the village.

“You are very welcome Haku-san.” Another giggle. “I’ll see you next week?”

“I have to go to Kyoto next week Nara-san. There are things I can’t get here.”

“Oh, I see. Then two weeks after?” Haku shook his head sadly. This man was so kind even though Haku never had any good news for him.

“Nara-san. If you aren’t busy, would you like to go to Kyoto with me?” He just seemed so lonely. Haku had felt compelled.

“Really? Um, sure. It would be nice to get out a bit more.”

“I will see you next Monday then.”

“Be careful.” Haku just waved as he rode off.

“Troublesome mangaka.” Shika muttered under his breath. “Makes him tell me that she still won’t see me. She can’t even be bothered to call me and tell me to ‘fuck off’ herself.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Kyoto was beautiful. Haku was perfect company. They’d gotten the things Haku needed to pick up and then spent the day enjoying the tourist attractions. They ate at a lovely little restaurant and talked about non-consequential things. Haku excused himself to the bathroom and didn’t return for some time. Shikamaru became irritated and decided to check on the other man.

He heard voices from the other side of the bathroom door.

“I am going to find him Haku. He is MINE and I will find him.” The voice was low and menacing.

“Please Kabuto-san. You know I can’t tell you where he is. He does not wish to see you.”

There was a thud and a whimper. Shikamaru was certain that the whimper was from Haku. He eased open the door enough to see a man with silver hair towering over the slighter brunette. “If you don’t tell me….”

“If you don’t let him go, something bad will happen.” Shikamaru had surveyed the room enough to be sure that he could back up the threat. There was a mop and bucket, just behind the aggressor. Shikamaru’s dad had insisted on martial arts lessons when he’d been young. He never practiced, but he hadn’t needed to. He knew the principles and techniques and could apply them easily without practice. He just really hated to. It wasn’t worth the bother.

The silver haired man turned to look at him. His hand still held the front of Haku’s shirt tightly. “My friend and I were having a private conversation. Do yourself a favor and leave us to it.”

“My friend doesn’t look like he wants to talk to you. Our food is getting cold. Do us all a favor and leave us to it.” Shikamaru really didn’t like the arrogant sneer in the other man’s tone. He stood ready but relaxed as he waited to see the other man’s move.

Haku tried to be the voice of reason. That was just so very him. “Please Kabuto-san, Nara-san; let’s all just leave this place now.”

“Shut up slut. So this is your new fuck boy.” Kabuto’s hard beady eyes raked Shika up and down.

Shikamaru had suspected that Haku was gay, but the man had never been anything but kind and polite to him, so it hadn’t really been an issue. Gay men were alright until they hit on you. Even then, they were okay if they took ‘no’ for an answer. Naruto was excluded from this rule, of course.

“So, he’s not the only one who likes us Americans, eh? You like us too.” Kabuto looked back at Haku. “If I’d have known that….” He let the rest trail off like a threat.

Shikamaru’d had enough. He moved. He kicked the mop bucket just hard enough, the mop handle fell and struck Kabuto on the back of the head. The man whirled in surprise, straight into the Nara’s fist and then dropped like a stone.

“You okay?”

Haku nodded. “That was very impressive.” His voice only shook a little.

“Pfft, let’s get the food and go to the hotel. Don’t think I wanna be here when he wakes up.” Haku nodded and they left. It surprised the young assistant that the other young man was not the least put off by the way Kabuto had spoken of Haku’s sexual orientation. The little beauty was intrigued. Before he’d felt sorry for Shikamaru Nara. Now he was interested in learning just a bit more about this handsome young American.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, mom’s half Japanese. Dad’s half American Indian. It makes it hard for people to know just what the heck I am.” Shika offered the soda to Haku as they waited for their train.

“I see. It is very interesting.”

Shika took a sip and dove in.

“So, can I ask who he’s after?”

“A friend. My friend… he made the mistake of trusting that man.”

“I see.”

“You’re straight, right?”

Shika had a hard time keeping the pop from flying out his nose. “Um, yeah.”

“Thought so. So why aren’t you bothered by me?”

“My best friend is gay. We’ve always been thick as thieves. I can’t really be okay with him and bothered by you, right?”

The little assistant smiled. “You should go home Shika-kun. Sensei will never meet with you. You should go home to your friends and family.”

“Can’t.” Haku just shook his head and held his peace.

~tbc~


	2. Persistence, Violence, and Chivalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shikamaru is trapped in cycle of polite rejection until something awful happens. Once the dust settles he returns to Naruto, but things have changed. (Rape warning is for this chapter. I do not usually write Rape and I DO NOT glorify it.)
> 
> Warnings: Threesome, Anal, Angst, BDSM, Bigotry, Contro, Fingering, H/C, HJ, Humil, M/M, Oral, Rape, Rim, Toys, Violence, WIP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks Fairy Nimah for always being there for me. Luv u hon!
> 
> Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, sadly that means I do not own it and have gained nothing but personal satisfaction from writing this.

He still met with Haku every other week. He still worked on screening manga for English release. He was on to action adventure at the moment. He corresponded with the main office through the few e-mails he could manage and snail-mail. He received large packages of books and spent his time reading. It was very dull at times.

Excitement it seemed was on the way. Shikamaru looked out his window for the hundredth time. Haku was late. He usually showed up at the little shop across the street far earlier than this. That’s where they met. Shika always watched for his friend from the window as he read.

Finally, he saw Haku walking toward the shop. Then he noticed someone waiting just outside an alleyway. He recognized the silver hair just as the man grabbed Haku and pulled him into the alley. Haku didn’t even have time to cry out.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

He raced down the stairs and out the door. Terror gripped his heart. “If I’d have known that….” Those words, that threat; he had to get to Haku before that man hurt him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

“I know where he is now. I don’t need you anymore.”

THUMP

THUD

“Haku!” Shikamaru yelled. He slammed his shoulder into the door. It crashed in. Haku was on the dirty floor unconscious and his assailant was nowhere to be found. Shikamaru gathered him up and ran with the slight man in his arms for yelling for help.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So naughty. Hiding from me.” The voice was so evil. “I finally found you. I won’t let you go.” A vicious hand tugged the silky hair turning the face upward. “You belong to me.”

Haku was frantic when he woke. He had run out of the room and straight for his dirt bike. Shikamaru had tried to stop him.

“No! I have to go! He’s headed for Sensei’s house!”

“You’re friend is there?!”

“Yes! I don’t know what Kabuto will do! Please, let me go!”

He hadn’t. He hadn’t let Haku go alone. They had gone together. Shikamaru was grateful for the time that he and Naruto had spent riding dirt bikes in the hills behind Naruto’s adopted father’s place. He never could have kept up with the frantic Haku, if he hadn’t been used to following the lunatic blond.

Haku had stopped before they reached the house. He told Shikamaru to be very quiet. He wasn’t sure what Kabuto would do if he knew someone was coming.

“Is your friend alone here?”

“Yes. There isn’t anyone else here right now. They always go home every third week.”

They crept toward the house as quietly as possible, both armed with crude clubs and ready to face whatever the maniac was up to. Well, Shika had thought so anyway.

Haku stopped under a window when he heard a familiar voice.

“Don’t you look slutty like that? Remember? You wouldn’t wear things like this when I asked nicely.” There was no sound from the person Kabuto was speaking to. There was a flash as a picture was taken, then some rustling.

“Mine. No one is coming for you. You really are all mine.” There were wet sounds that Shika didn’t think he wanted to identify. “You like that? I always knew you were a size whore.” There were more flashes and Shika was certain now that he didn’t want to know what was happening on the other side of that wall.

They made it into the house without being found out. The demon was too busy with his prey to notice the interlopers. Haku turned the knob slowly and cried out in shock at the sight before him. Shika shoved the stunned man to the side as Kabuto lunged at them both. They went down in a heap.

Haku fought valiantly, but Kabuto had him in close quarters and used his size to his advantage. Haku was slammed into the wall repeatedly while Shikamaru tried to club Kabuto to death from behind. They both seemed to lose consciousness at the same time and slumped to the floor together. Shika tossed the criminal aside and checked to be sure Haku was still breathing. He was.

Then Shika turned his attention to the man on the bed. He was face down and he was securely tied, one wrist to one ankle. There was some kind of sex toy in his anus. Shika cringed. He’d just walked in on a rape in progress. What the hell was he supposed to do now?!

He approached the other man carefully. “My name is Nara Shikamaru. I’m a friend of Haku’s. I am going to help you. “

It took some doing, but he finally got the ropes off. The other man slumped forward onto the bed. He made no movement, none at all. Shikamaru’s eyes kept flicking to the man’s blanket covered ass.

“Do you want me to leave…. So you can …. Um…….“ He didn’t finish. The other man turned to look at him through a mass of brown hair and nodded.

“Let me tie the asshole up, in case he wakes up.” When that was done, he locked the brute in the hallway bathroom.

\-------------------

Knock Knock

“Can I come in? I want to check on Haku.”

“Please.” Was the only answer. Shika opened the door. The other man was cradling Haku in his arms. Long brown hair fell like a curtain over both their faces. Shika knelt beside them.

“We need to get him some help.”

“It’s on the way.”

“H-How?!”

“I called my family. They are sending a helicopter with people to help.”

“Oh.” The guy was rich. That didn’t fit with the image he’d had of Haku’s friend. He’d assumed the man was another assistant to the mangaka.

“They disowned me. I’m gay. They’ll do anything to prevent a scandal. It will all be taken care of, as if it never happened.” The voice was so sad and so soft. Shika couldn’t help it, he wanted to hug the man and tell him it would be okay, even if it wouldn’t.

He wasn’t prepared for it. The most beautiful face he’d ever seen turned toward him. Pale violet eyes glistened with unshed tears as nothing but pride held the other man together. “Thank you for your help.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

“He’s leaving.”

“He’s given up then?” Why that bothered Neji he couldn’t be sure. He chocked it up to his recent experiences and went back to fixing the draft.

“No. His mother is in the hospital, so his company gave him permission to come home. After that, he’ll be back.”

Neji’s head fell. This was no good. It really couldn’t go on this way any longer. One mangaka’s selfish whims should not be able to rule or ruin another person’s life. He stood slowly and walked to the office door with an air of resignation. The door slid shut behind him. A few minutes later voices were heard.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Haku was shocked. They were going to America. Neji had made it happen. He glanced at his friend as he squeezed the delicate pale hand supportively.

Neji just nodded without looking at him.

Migoto Tsukurigoto was going to be translated into English. They were headed to the final negotiations. Beautiful Lie, the Manga’s title was so very apt in so very many ways. Haku’s stomach turned from more than the turbulence.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You’re HOME!” Naruto yelled into the phone nearly blowing Shika’s eardrum. “You bastard! You didn’t’ tell me you were coming home! I wouldn’t have left!”

“It’s okay. I’m really jet lagged. I just saw mom. She looks like death, but she’ll be okay.” Shikamaru swiped his hand over his face. “I have to be in to the office tomorrow. They just called and told me, so I’m just gonna go home and sleep.”

“I’m headed back now. I should be there by the afternoon.”

“Fine, just come by the office. I’m sure I’ll be there.”

“Get some rest. I’m sure you look like hell.”

“Troublesome brat! I love you too.” His voice didn’t exactly drip with sarcasm, like it should have. He was just too damn tired. He hadn’t slept well. Haunted amethyst eyes tortured him every time he closed his own. Shika couldn’t shake the guilt. He’d just left them there when the imposing men in dark suits arrived and made it clear that his presence was no longer needed.

He shouldn’t have. He should have stayed. He’d left a message for Haku when he’d learned of his mother’s emergency hysterectomy. The pretty assistant hadn’t called him. Shikamaru couldn’t help wondering how they were doing; especially the eerily beautiful man who filled his head with very frightening thoughts.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chief Editor, Anko Mitarashi about fell out of her chair. “Really?! You’re kidding right?!! Holy Shit! I’m on my way!” She bolted out of her office while shouting at her assistant. “Find Shikamaru Nara!”

A small group of men entered the building. They were cloistered around a petite figure wrapped in a long coat. The group quickly made its way into the building and headed for the elevator. A lone figure in an overlarge hooded sweatshirt slipped in behind them. The hood was up and the man was wearing dark sunglasses. No one noticed him in the commotion.

“Hey! Hold the elevator!” Naruto was jogging toward the closing doors. His hand was raised in entreaty. All he could think about was seeing Shika after such a long time apart. He was going to hug the genius and then tell him what an idiot he was. Naruto didn’t really pay attention to the delicate alabaster hand that moved to stop the closing doors.

“Thanks, man. I owe you.” The blond breathed as he slipped into the compartment. “Third floor please.”

They both stepped out at the same time. Naruto jostled the other man’s slender frame in his eagerness to see his best friend. “Oh, sorry. I’m being a jerk.”

The other man’s face wasn’t as shadowed by the hood as it had been before their collision. Naruto watched as brilliant white teeth bit a plump pale pink lip uncertainly. “Um, I know most of the people on this floor. Can I help you find an office?”

The other seemed to debate answering for a moment. “Yes. Domo.” The man’s accent was smooth and graceful. He could have been from anywhere. It was only the Japanese ‘thank you’ that tipped Naruto off. “I am looking for Shikamaru Nara.”

Naruto gulped. Hearing Shikamaru’s name slip from those delicate lips gave him a shiver of dread. He actually ‘looked’ at the man facing him. Even covered as he was, the man was pretty.

“Oh, well, his office is this way.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Shika was stunned. The Mangaka he’d been hunting for so long was being brought up to his office. His mind should have been on business. It wasn’t. His only thoughts were, ‘will they be with her’ ‘are they angry with me for abandoning them’ ‘I really am a bastard’. It went on in that vein even up to the moment the door opened and a petite figure was ushered in.

He gave the formal Japanese greeting, bow and all. When his head came up, he locked eyes with a slightly tearful Haku.

“Nara-san. I am so sorry for misleading you. I am a terrible person. Please forgive me.” Haku dropped to his knees as he completed the last sentence. Anko’s expression slipped from excitement to confusion. She looked to Shika for an explanation and found the oddest expression there. Shikamaru gulped as he steadied himself. He lowered slowly to a crouch in front of the lightly sobbing man.

“Haku? Are you the Mangaka?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto opened the door to his best friend’s office to find it filled with people. The room was too quiet and the blond instantly pushed through to find Shika. His heart fluttered a bit when he saw his long lost friend. Then he was stumbling as the man he’d arrived with shouldered him out of the way.

“Haku?!” Neji cried in concern. “Are you alright?! What happened?” Neji looked up at Shikamaru. Shikamaru’s voice caught in his throat. It was him. He was there. Shika didn’t need to see those amazing eyes. He’d know this man anywhere.

“Are you… How are you?” Shika could barely breath the words. His chest has tightened painfully. It showed on his face and Naruto was at his side in an instant.

“Okay! Fun’s over. EVERYBODY OUT! Now!” The blond roared and no one moved.

Neji locked eyes with the other man. “Please leave us.” He concurred and the room did clear.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

Shika dropped back onto his butt with a sigh. “Who is the mangaka? It’s one of you isn’t it?”

The disguised Neji’s head dropped in shame. “I’m sorry. After all that you’ve done for us. I felt compelled. I’ll allow the release of Migoto Tsukurigoto in English.”

Haku buried his face in Neji’s firm chest and his friend’s strong arms wrapped around his slender frame.

“What the hell is he talking about Shika?! How do you know these guys?” Neji’s eyes were covered. The beach blond didn’t see the cold hard look shooting at him from behind the dark glasses. It hadn’t really hit Neji yet. Ever since his rescue at Shikamaru’s hands, Neji had begun to view his rescuer as ‘his’ rescuer.

Hyuuga’s just happened to be the most possessive people on the planet. It was a fact that Neji was very aware of. Once something was his in his mind, it was his forever. Neji was a possessive bastard that way.

“Is this you’re friend Nara-san?” Haku asked without moving. He’d felt the shift in Neji. He’d seen this coming and had fretted over Neji’s response once the disowned Hyuuga realized his new attachment to the young literary exec.

Shikamaru looked up over his shoulder at Naruto’s troubled face. “Oh, yeah. This is Naruto. Naruto, this is Haku and his friend Neji. I told you about Haku….”

“Maybe you wanna tell me about Neji too, huh?” Naruto was getting a little pissed off. He didn’t like to be in the dark, especially where Shika was concerned.

“Um, I can’t.” Shika didn’t look at him.

“You WHAT?!” Naruto shot to his feet. They had never had a secret between them, not ever.

“It’s….. Oh hell Naruto, please…. Just…. I don’t know…. can Neji and I talk for a minute?”

Haku pulled away from Neji and whispered so that only he could here. “Behave.” Neji frowned, but nodded.

The pretty little raven stood up and gave Naruto his sweetest smile. “Please… will you show me where there is a restroom? I need to rinse my face and straighten my appearance.”

Naruto shot a glare at Shika, promising some form of truly annoying retribution. “Sure, it’s this way.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shika sighed and looked at a spot just above Neji’s shoulder. “He’s my best friend. He has a right to be pissed if he thinks I’m keeping things from him.” Neji removed his glasses and looked Shikamaru in the eyes.

“Then don’t.”

“What?!”

“If he were truly the most important person to you, nothing could make you deceive or deny him.”

“You writers always spout shit like that. Do you even live in the real world?!” The dam of Shika’s patience had just broken. “Troublesome…”

Neji smiled a sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Again, Shikamaru just wanted to gather the other man in his arms and tell him it would all be okay. Neji really resembled a lost kitten. The way he stared at Shikamaru as if he wanted to be held, but would scratch his eyes out if he offered such comfort. 

“Naruto IS the most important person in my life. There is no one else who has been there for me like him, not even family.” He reached into his jacket pocket for the smoking cessation gum Naruto had insisted he try before his trip. “It’s not mine to tell. I mean… what happened, it happened to you more than anyone, and it just isn’t my place to tell anyone anything.”

Neji’s gaze fell to his hands. This Nara Shikamaru really was too good to be true. That only made things so much worse. He had to ask fate, ‘why couldn’t he have been a jerk?’ Things would have been a lot less complicated had that been the case.

“Then I shall tell him.”

“Huh?!” The packet of gum hit the floor.

“If I do this, perhaps I won’t feel so indebted to you. Perhaps some of the guilt for wasting so much of your time while refusing to meet with you…. Perhaps some of that will go away.” Neji’s hands held each other in a white-knuckled grip. “Maybe I’ll feel a bit more at peace, if I just say it out loud.” He couldn’t help but think ‘maybe if I give this bit of myself away, my pride… then maybe I will gain something so very much greater than that’.

There was a shaky breath and then, “My former lover attacked my assistant and then attacked me. He tied me up and was beginning to rape me, when Haku and Nara Shikamaru saved me. Haku was knocked unconscious. Nara-sama was very gentle as he untied me. He tied up my attacker and even gave me privacy to ‘deal’ with ‘things’ and collect myself. He was very concerned for Haku’s welfare. It…. It was horrible, but…. It is encouraging to know that there are people like him in this world. He didn’t have to help us.”

Shikamaru hadn’t heard the door open. He didn’t know that Naruto was standing just outside it. Neji had noticed. He was ultra sensitive to the slightest changes in his environment now. He had been ever since that night. This was his gift to Shikamaru. This was his hook. The man was bound to him now. Shikamaru just didn’t know it yet.

A small part of him felt guilty. That part was far smaller than his possessive streak or the sucking empty darkness that seemed to fill his heart more and more everyday. Somehow Neji felt that if he could just have this person, this kind and gentle person, then the emptiness would be filled and he might just be able to continue to exist in this world.

It was weak and pathetic and shameful and he knew those things. Those things just weren’t as important as the idea of Nara Shikamaru. That idea now held every bit of meaning for him. And no blue eyed blond was going to stand in his way.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, you’re some kind of a hero, huh?” Neji had left them alone, claiming that he needed to check on Haku. Naruto had been too stunned to see the cold calculation in the other man’s jewel-like eyes.

Shikamaru shrugged. “It was really messed up. He was… he was being raped by that bastard. The guy was talking to him like he was property. I… I can’t get it out of my mind. How does somebody get through something like that?!” Hot tears slipped past the dark brown lashes. “Naruto… I…. I feel responsible for him.”

That last bit cut. It shouldn’t have. Shika was just being noble, but it cut into Naruto’s heart nonetheless. How Shika could feel responsible for any man but him… well that was a question that hurt. That was the moment that Naruto realized it had never really been a game. He had only pretended for Shika’s sake and out of his own fear of rejection.

Naruto really wanted Shikamaru to be his ‘one true love’. Now, some other man was on the receiving end of Shika’s protective streak and Naruto felt jealous. Considering the circumstances involved THAT just made him feel like an asshole.

“So, what do you want to do about it?”

Shika’s head fell against his chest and he mumbled his tag line against Naruto’s thin tank top. “Troublesome.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is unkind Neji-kun.” Haku was being himself, Neji’s own personal conscience. Jiminy Cricket really had nothing on the petite assistant.

“I need him.” The reply was so bereft of emotion that the lack spoke volumes. Neji always retreated when hurt. He’d been so distant lately that Haku feared he’d never return.

“The blond is in love with him.”

“Then he should have done something sooner.”

“Would that have stopped you?” Before Haku would have never questioned Neji’s integrity, but now there was a dark suspicion in the very back of his mind.

“I… I’m not sure. Please Haku, I’m very tired. Can we please just sleep?” He sounded so small and so frail.

Neji never let anyone else see him like this. Haku hugged him tightly and kissed his dark brown head.

“Sleep well Neji-kun.”

“I love you Haku.”

“I know. I love you too.”

They fell asleep like that. The brunette rested easiest when sheltered in the petite raven’s wings.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Naruto sat reading on his bed. He wasn’t one to read often, but whenever he had trouble sleeping he would pull out his old comic books and just look them over until he nodded off. Tonight was different though. He wasn’t reading comics, he was reading manga, yaoi manga. The pictures were so erotic. He had to wonder if Shika had seen this one. Neji had a darker side to him it seemed. At least if this manga could be used as an indication.

 

Naruto gulped hesitantly before turning the next page. He was hard, hard from reading the shit that pervy mangaka had drawn and written. That was the same pervy mangaka that Shika felt ‘responsible’ for. Naruto was hard and near tears at the same time. What did he have over that guy? Neji had looks, style, talent, and obviously a lot of old fashioned gay ‘know how’. Some of those positions Naruto had never even heard of, much less tried!!

~tbc~


End file.
